While we should no doubt be glad for Dheeraj Jadhav, there're a few issues associated with his selection:

Why is an opening batsman replacing a middle order batsman?

Dheeraj Jadhav barely made it in the top 25 run-getters list in the last Indian domestic season. Even if we skipped the names of the usual suspects such as Pagnis, Jaffer, Bangar, Muzumdar, Sriram etc. why isn't the middle order slot given to Venugopal Rao or Suresh Raina, who are already in Zimbabwe as part of the one-day side? That'd save the BCCI precious foreign exchange, which is apparently what they hoped to do with their scheduling during this tour where the Indian team continously finds itself on the day before a game at a venue other than where they're scheduled to play.

Could it be that none of the prospective replacements for Tendulkar were from West Zone and thus the selectors had to pick the best available batsman from West Zone? Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that Dheeraj Jadhav made that many runs. Imagine if none of the West Zone batsman were good enough, the selectors would have picked someone like Kiran Powar, an off-spinner who can bat!

So where does the consistency angle come in? Well, this selection immediately made me think about the off-spinner Noel David's selection for India's tour of the West Indies in 1996/7 as a replacement for the injured ... hold your breath ... Javagal Srinath. Then two years ago, Hyderabad batsman Vanka Pratap tried to explain Noel David's selection by alleging that money had changed hands to ensure that David was picked. Of course, the fact that Noel David and Javagal Srinath were both from South Zone was a convenient aspect as well, which would no doubt have been considered. Vanka Pratap's statement came hot on the heels of Abhijit Kale's alleged bribe to selectors Kiran More and Pranab Roy to get a spot in the Indian squad.

All this reeks of nepotism, favouritism and an utter lack of professionalism. Then again, did we expect better from an organization which didn't care for cricketers? For more instances on the BCCI's approach to professionalism, just cast your mind to the television rights fiasco. Look at how opaque the entire process was and what eventuallyhappened.

But hang on, if you thought the BCCI was the only cricket board where selectors were picked on the basis of their regional representation, think again!

As I read it, Chappel was consulted by the selectors before they chose Jadhav. Probably the request from the team management was to have an opener, as a cover for Gambhir or the currently ill Sehwag, rather than a middle order batsman, where we already have competition between Yuv and Kaif.

I don't think since the Wright-Ganguly period, selection policies have been that inconsistent, or regionally(or otherwise) biased. And most of the selected candidates have been given a fair run in the middle before being replaced. Otherwise they have still remained on the fringes...ready for the next oppurtunity (like Karthik).

Do you really think that if Gambhir or Sehwag are injured/ill etc., Dheeraj Jadhav will open? My guess is that Dinesh Karthik will be sacrificial lamb or one of the middle order batsmen. I really can't see him getting a game.

As time goes by your posts are getting insane and out of sense.Your post on Dheeraj Jadhav was the most utter piece of non-sense i have ever read.

Pls read this www.cricketfundas.com/djadhavinterview.html

Or better still do a google on Dheeraj Jadhav+Cricket and find out yourself.

I have a line from that particular page , specially for you.

"The 2003-04 season will be one of the main reasons Dheeraj is where he is today. Having played 9 matches and scored 1245 runs at a Bradmanesque average of 103.75, the selectors had no option but to not ignore his performances. The one aspect that distinguishes Jadhav from other openers India has had, one can say apart from Wasim Jaffer, that once he gets a start he makes it count. His recent scores of 260*, 251, 207 and 200* in the domestic competition justify the fact that, once this man is on a roll, its beware time for the opposition."

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